The white-cheeked starling or grey starling scientifically known as Spodiopsar cineraceus, a passerine bird of the starling family, has been spotted in Manipur for the first time.
The medium sized dark grey-brown bird with white cheeks was seen and recorded for the first time in the picturesque state at Lamphelpat in Imphal West by a team of Wildlife Explorers Manipur, during one of their bird surveys.
Wildlife Explorers Manipur, member Loyangamba Irungbam spotted the rare bird feeding amongst a flock of ‘Paid Starlings’ locally known as ‘Chonga Thijabi’ on April 14 at Lamphelpat area around 9 am. He then took photos of the bird with much difficulty.
Loyangamba came to know about the winged wonder with the help of former assistant director of Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, Raju Kasambe, who confirmed it after seeing the photos he took.
The white-cheeked starling is native to eastern Asia where it is a common and well-known bird in much of its range. All reports of sighting the species in India and South East Asia, till date, are from Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India.
According to Craig & Feare 2020, the White-cheeked Starling breeds in northeastern Asia and migrates to Japan, South Korea, south-eastern China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in the winter, with stragglers reaching Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines and of late, India.
Speaking on the discovery, Wildlife Explorers Manipur Secretary, Elangbam Premjit said that though the species was unrecorded in the past (Choudhury 2006) there is an increasing number of records in the recent years from Arunachal Pradesh (2017,2019,2021).
He asserted that the recent sighting of the species in Manipur contributes to the growing number of sighting records of the species, with ninth for South Asia at present.
“This means that there might be regular sightings of the species in the future,” Premjit added. He further pointed out that there have been sightings of various species of migratory bird in Lamphelpat, which makes the area an important bird habitat. He stressed the need for the authorities concerned to consider the same and initiate necessary activities in time.
